Yossy Arefi
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A recipe is only as easy as the number of dishes it requires. If the end result is a sink full of dirtied mixing bowls, cutting boards, saucepans, and a dozen spoons, even the easiest recipe becomes exhausting. Imagine a cookbook in which almost every recipe requires exactly one bowl and less than an hour. Yossy Arefi's new book delivers just that.
The sequel to
, Yossy's third book has 60 recipes spanning creature comforts and scrumptious surprises." takes the concept of super flavorful, low-lift baking, and applies it to a wide variety of treats," she says. While focused on , has cookies, brownies, bars, barks, and plenty of delectable . The common denominator, though, is the recipes' simplicity. The one-bowl, one-hour bakes are both a beginner baker's paradise. According to Yossy, you don't even have to wait for cookie dough to chill or butter to soften to make these recipes.
Yossy grew up inspired by cooking shows she watched on television. When she moved to New York, she earned a job in a restaurant kitchen with little experience and learned the complexities of cooking and baking.
Today, Yossy is more likely to be found baking in the galley kitchen of her New York City apartment. There's no dishwasher and there's certainly no surplus of counter space. "I think twice before pulling out an additional bowl or set of tools to get a job done," she writes. And it's that same methodology that she shares in her recent books.
If you've got a bowl, a baking pan, butter, flour, sugar, and leaveners, you've got almost everything you need to whip up a shocking number of recipes from . The coffee-glazed molasses bars that Yossy plans to make this holiday season, for example, use almost purely kitchen staples.
The soft grapefruit cookies recipe shared below call for similar standard ingredients along with fresh, seasonal citrus. As with many of the recipes Yossy shares, you can make a glaze to top the cookies, but you don't have to. She offers alternatives, sometimes as dialed down as a sprinkle of powdered sugar; other times, it's a transformative frosting or creative flavor variation.
The thing about these recipes is that anyone can try them. "People can be fearful of baking because you kind of don't know if you've made a mistake until the very end, and your cake is gooey in the middle or it sinks or the cookies spread into one giant mass on the tray," says Yossy.
"But I think once you learn some basic building blocks and base recipes baking can be as fun and improvisational as cooking." She suggests starting with something simple: "Make a snacking cake or a batch of cookies, something that doesn't take a lot of time, energy, and effort and results in a delicious beautiful treat to enjoy."
The busy holiday season is the perfect time to get in the kitchen and bake something quick and easy. "I love to make as many cookies as I have time for," says Yossy, who also has cashew brittle, marshmallows, and chocolate covered toffee on her list. Fill your with these melt-in-your-mouth grapefruit cookies or any number of bars, cake slices, and bite-sized treats.
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Yields: 16 serving(s)
Total Time: 1 hr
For the Cookies:
1/3 c. neutral oil
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. grated grapefruit zest
1 tbsp. grapefruit juice
1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
1 large egg, cold from the fridge
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
For the Glaze:
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 to 3 tbsp. grapefruit juice
Pinch of salt
Grated grapefruit zest (optional)
See Nutritional Information
Directions
Step 1 Position two racks as close to the center of the oven as possible and preheat to 350ºF.
Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 2 Make the cookies: In a large bowl, combine the oil, melted butter, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, grapefruit zest, grapefruit juice, and salt. Whisk until well combined, about 30 seconds. The mixture will appear slightly curdled.
Step 3 Add the egg and whisk until smooth, thick, and glossy, about 30 seconds.
Step 4 Whisk in the baking soda. Fold in the flour with a spatula and mix until no streaks of flour remain.
Step 5 Use a 1 1/2- tablespoon cookie scoop or heaping tablespoon to portion the dough into 16 cookies, 8 on each prepared baking sheet.
Step 6 Bake the cookies until light golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes, switching racks and rotating the pans front to back halfway through baking. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets.
Step 7 Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice, and salt. Whisk until smooth, adding a bit more grapefruit juice to make a slow-moving, opaque glaze.
Step 8 Once cooled, dip each cookie into the glaze and place back on the parchment paper. If desired, grate a bit of grapefruit zest directly over the tops. Let the glaze set for a few minutes.
Step 9 Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days; the cookies will soften as they sit.
Snacking Bakes: Simple Recipes for Cookies, Bars, Brownies, Cakes, and More
Snacking Bakes: Simple Recipes for Cookies, Bars, Brownies, Cakes, and More
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"Snacking Bakes" Copyright © 2023 by Yasameen Arefi-Afshar. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York."
